I'd like to make it a sticky since I do think this is a valuable resource, but I want to wait until the Mac App store is released to tie the links to that (if it's possible...not sure yet?).

But let's keep adding to the list so we can have a good, comprehensive overview by mid-January.

I can only add so much to the list before I can't edit the original posts anymore. And the posts can only hold 10k characters. That's why I had to have 2 posts for it.

Secondly I wanted to do more then just a simple list of apps. I wanted to tell the people new to the Mac what each App does and why they should download it. Sure you can google up many app lists. But very few go into detail as to why a new Mac user should have them.

Thirdly I'm not putting in things like firefox or thunderbird. Sure they are great apps. But as many people have said in many switcher topics here it's best to use the Apple versions (safari and mail for example) first. So they can get a good feel as to how things are done on the Mac. Later on they can switch to whatever apps they want. But as an initial learning tool having all their apps with the same layout can help them more easily become familiar with the OS X layout of things.

I could have a separate list for Alternatives to Apple Apps. And have FF as the safari alternative and TB as the mail alternative etc etc. That might work.

And lastly all of the apps on my list are free. We could have a paid list too if you wanted.